New to Pano and Infinity

You may find this article useful for considering early purchases:

http://heartofthehyperpower.blogspot.com/2018/09/starting-with-hyperpower-guide-to.html?m=1

But, in general, the newer PanOceania Sectorial starter boxes haven't been a very good entry point, so there is little reason to wait for Varuna.

In terms of list building you may find this article helpful:

http://heartofthehyperpower.blogspot.com/2018/09/list-writing-in-infinity.html?m=1

But my big advice would be to make sure that you pick up strong cheap options (Auxilia, Acontecimento Regulars, Remotes, Support Pack) and not just the expensive elite units.

 

Or just use Fusiliers instead of Regulars since the Acontecimento starter is out-of-print right now.

 

Proxy.

Proxy the ever-loving shit out of things until you figure out what works best for you and the way you develop to play your force.

Rinse.

Repeat.

Buy all the things you liked that worked for you.

Then buy all the other things.

Profit.

When you've achieved that, you're well into your fourth army.

 

@FatherKnowsBest I completely agree with your statement.

 

Option B: Buy whatever models look cool, and use them to proxy!




In general, ther are 5 rules of thumb I use for making an army list (even now, and I've been playing this game since 2006)

1. Orders. You need at least 8 regular orders in your primary combat group. This means no more than 2 models starting off-table in Hidden or Airborne Deployment.
2. Guns. This is less 'Did I spend all my SWC?' than it is 'Do I have a variety of guns?' You win firefights in Infinity by being in your +3 range when your opponent is in his -3 range.
3. Speed. This is all about using the fewest number of orders to do what you need to. Models that start halfway up the table are considered 'fast' because you don't need to spend 3 orders moving them up. But mind your range bands, it may cost fewer orders to have your HMG back up than have a combirifle advance to kill someone.
4. Specialists. These are the models that either win the mission for you, or keep your shooty troops alive to win the mission. I recommend having one of each: Hacker, Doctor, Engineer, Forward Observer.
5. Plan. I can't teach you this, other than to ask you questions: What are you going to do when your primary attack piece goes down? What are you going to do when your secondary attack piece goes down? What are you going to do if someone Combat Jumps into your deployment zone? etc. My running joke is that Infinity's motto should be "Play like you got a plan."

 

Not yet!

 

What are you going to do when your primary attack piece goes down?

 

Learn how to leverage the strengths of the units all the way down your roster.

The BS 11 on an Auxilia is a joke, but combined with the Heavy Flamethrower on their AuxBot hitting something at the same time and it can suddenly turn into a very effective tool, and with Supportware a Pathfinder can double as an attack remote if you need it to... for example.

 

In Pano when your primary attack piece goes down, you use your second attack piece, and when that goes down, you use your third attack piece and when that goes down you use your fourth attack piece, then fifth, then sixth, then seventh, eighth and nineth attack piece, lol! ;)
In Pano we like to solve our problems by shooting the place up with our amazing BS lol!

The plan for Pano and it’s Motto should very well be, “Shoot first, and ask questions later!”

 

Actually yeah, it kinda works like that ;) PanO tends to go for the throat first, and objectives later.

If my primary attack piece is something like a TAG or HI with HMG/Spitfire, I can use Bulleteer Spitfire as a cheap and very good backup, and AD trooper as plan C (or B, if Bulleteer is out of position for what I have in mind). As AdmiralJCJF mentioned, even the most basic units can be dangerous if properly used.

@Dr.Schemes: Don't worry too much about putting together a perfect list, because lists are very fluid in Infinity, they change with missions, opponents, and often on a "I want to try something new" whim. I can't remember playing with the same list more than 2-3 times.

Can you show us some examples what kind of lists you like to play (together with a list of armies you usually face).

 

In all seriouness tho, if you use the right weapon, cover, your range bands, and special equipment/skills to your advantage, then Pano can often use it’s attack pieces to take out the enemy.

On a lighter note, about the only thing I could find short notice that is invulnerable to being shot up with bullets, is the bulletproof belly of “Chunk” from Goonies, lol.

 

An then is when a critical hit occurs... No exception here, and your plan go into the toilet... :P

 

When kiesotsu make armor saves

 

I'd like to point out that BS11 isn't bad. It's average. You just have to guarantee you're in your +3 range.

PanO usually has +1 BS compared to other factions. So the glorified cop (Auxilia) has the same shooting skills as every other factions line infantry (Line Kazaks for example) while PanO line infantry have the same skill as others elite infantry.

As for just starting, go with what you like. If you like space knights, there's Military Orders. Fast, light veterans more your style? Shock Army of Aconcentimento. Perhaps you would rather have extreme fire superiority, then look at NCA.

If you're waiting for Varuna, just stick to the stuff already confirmed, like fusiliers and ORCs. Plus pick up a few Remotes like the pathfinder and Fugazi. Those are pretty much s staple of PanO lists.

 

Camo TAG (Uhlan) is in NCA or Vanilla, TO Camo TAG is in Vanilla, and will be in Varuna.

ASA is a good choice.

 

First of all I'd decide either on vanilla on one of the sectorials. Both coices have their pros and cons; vanilla is more flexible and you can play without learning the ins and outs of Fireteam rules. Sectorials are more focused and easier to collect, plus fireteams are pretty powerful. ASA is like Nomads with proper firepower; MO is very much about Heavy Infantry, NCA is like a more focused vanilla, as it has one really useful fireteam. The upcoming update might introduce some important changes, though, so it's worth waiting with that decision a bit.

Next step? Starting small, at 100-150 pts battles, to learn the basics. Play a few games, add 50 pts, repeat until you'll get to 300. This is a good way to learn some basic tactics and see what works and what doesn't. You'll also know how you like to play, will make next purchases easier.

 

Don't choose Vanilla!! That's bad for newbies. Don't.